On its surface, Record Store Day (RSD) is a retail holiday. But it’s also a chance for stores to remind Bay area music fans that the shops are just as important as venues and bands when it comes to calculating a community’s musical worth.
There are about two dozen places to buy vinyl in the Bay area, but here’s a rundown of the bigger celebrations happening on April 22. Think bands, beer and boatloads of vinyl. Also remember that there’s no room for assholery at any of these shops. Queue early, don’t be a dick as you make move towards your most coveted RSD exclusive, and keep in mind that not all stores actually receive what they order (details on that here). Doors open at 8 a.m. at most of the events listed below. Click the links below for additional details.
Bananas Doors at 9 a.m. at Bananas’ more retail-y location (the warehouse is a day trip) where bands (The Vultures, Reality Asylum, Zerobabies, Jackrabbit and Row Jomah) kick off at 11 a.m.. Kawah coffee on deck, Coppertail on tap and Empamamas to grub on, too. (2887 22nd Ave. N., St. Petersburg) INFO
Daddy Kool Records Ticket giveaways (Shins, Spoon, Muse, more) are just part of DK’s party, where St. Pete emcee Infinite Skillz and DJ Reality will play selector. The shop is promising over 100 RSD exclusive titles and will offer more discount vinyl, CDs, books and comics outside. A pop-up market also takes over Seventh Street, where New Belgium Brewing will be giving away free beer starting at noon and there will be free Red Bull so you can keep up throughout the day. (666 Central Ave. N., St. Petersburg) INFO
Kingfish Records Pat Nolen and his wife (who run Kingfish Records out of the Oldsmar Flea Market) placed their largest RSD order to date (125 titles, and they expect about 500 pieces total to come in), but the real allure of the store is the more than 30,000 LPs (plus 5,000 45s) that are backed by the Nolens’ immense bank of knowledge and love of record label history. (180 Race Track Rd., Oldsmar) INFO
Microgroove This half-decade-old Seminole Heights shop expects to have about 150 of the 400 RSD titles available in their store, and Cappy’s Pizzeria next door is opening at noon to serve slices (and two doors down, Independent Bar & Café is offering 10 percent off tabs with a Microgroove receipt). A musical lineup heavy on the guitar rock (The Venus, Ninehorn, Dave Decker and more) kicks off at 12:30 p.m**., which is also when the Pabst Blue Ribbon starts getting doled out, too. The more caffeine-minded can enjoy Commune + Co.’s nitro-tapped pressure brew. (4906 N. Florida Ave., Tampa) INFO
Mojo Books & Records It’s the 10th anniversary of Record Store Day and the 10th anniversary of Mojo Books & Records itself, so the shop is finally celebrating (they’ve never had an anniversary event before) in a big way. The store ordered every single official title and a few RSD titles from the United Kingdom. A dozen bands are set to play (with Tampa indie quintet DieAlps! kicking it off at 3:30 p.m.), and Pabst Blue Ribbon is giving out free beer after 3 p.m. There’s a BOGO sale on budget vinyl too, and a vegan bake sale where proceeds go towards the care of homeless cats. (2540 E. Fowler Ave, Tampa) INFO
Planet Retro It’s Planet Retro’s first year in St. Pete’s new Fringe District (remember when some asshole broke into Retro’s Central Avenue spot in August?), so owner Rob Sexton is going balls to the wall with free beer, 16 bands starting at 8 a.m. and a donation station that will provide funds for Girls Rock Camp St. Pete, which deploys female identifying musicians, nurses, artists, workshop leaders and “Posi Posse” crew to help empower a new generation of girls and women through music. (226 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N., St. Petersburg) INFO
Steelworker Records This new Riverside Heights record shop opened in September and caters to the adventurous side of its customers by stocking obscure titles next to the usual suspects you’ve come to expect. They ordered about 100 RSD titles for 2017, but mostly focused on ordering import titles from some of their favorite international labels. (708 W. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Blvd., Tampa) INFO
**A previous version of this story said bands at Mircrogroove kick off at 5:30 p.m.
